[1][2][3][4] Derived from soukous in the 1990s, with fast-paced hip-swaying dance rhythms, often accompanied by upbeat, percussion-driven music, the style became widespread in the mid-1990s and the subsequent decade, dominating dancefloors in central, eastern, and western Africa.

[17] The Parisian writer Milau K. Lutumba elucidates that this metaphorical construct emerged as a collective expression of the Congolese populace's hope for an end to the brutality, terror, injustice, and misery perpetuated during the reign of president Mobutu Sese Seko.

Lutumba notes that this symbolic renaming marked a turning point in the country's history, signifying a desire for positive change and a departure from the oppressive era.

[25] The role of the guitarist is shared with an atalaku, a singer who, from the music's outset, directs the percussion, galvanizes the audience, and augments assertive rhythms through impassioned MC harangue.

[26][27][28][21] Nelson George notes that this transformation resulted in a high-octane auditory quality that produced hits and dance crazes that gained popularity across Africa and major European cities, launching the careers of many homegrown artists, most notably world music singer Papa Wemba.

[29] By the end of the 1990s, musicians such as Radja Kula, Wenge Musica, Koffi Olomide, and Général Defao joined Sonodisc, orchestrating a paradigm shift that transformed soukous into raunchy, fast-paced dance music, renaming it ndombolo.

[35] Ndombolo quickly established itself as a popular African dance style across Africa and into the continent's diaspora in Belgium, France, the UK, Germany, Canada, and the United States.

[40][41] The album's eponymous single became synonymous with ndombolo dance, making waves across Africa and France with a combination of the singer's deep baritone voice and sophisticated arrangements, blending old-school rumba and keyboard melodies and ending in a guitar climax.

[42][43][44] During this time, ndombolo made significant inroads into East Africa, particularly Kenya, where dance floors became overcrowded due to its surging popularity, and the "influx of waist-wriggling dancers" became a common sight.

[45] Congolese bands actively sought performance contracts from bar owners in Western Kenya, with ndombolo and the local genre benga gaining widespread traction in Kisumu and its neighboring towns.

[46][47] In December 1998, the Extra Musica ensemble from the Republic of the Congo released their fourth studio album, Etat-Major, marking the first ndombolo record to attain broad success in English-speaking African countries.

[65] In 1999, Wenge Musica Maison Mère debuted their ndombolo-infused album Solola Bien!, which achieved gold certification and experienced immediate success in Africa and France.

[68][69][70][71] Notably, Wenge Musica Maison Mère's track "Augustine" was recognized as one of the "five songs that made Congo dance" by the French pan-African weekly news magazine Jeune Afrique.

[72] Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rise to power in Congo prompted speculation and misinformation, with rumors of impending bans on miniskirts, women's pants, and love song on airwaves, as well as the closure of nightclubs.

[75][76][77] Paradoxically, despite prohibitions, many artists continued to release records that dominated discos, bars, and clubs across Africa, characterized by their distinctive bass, tingling guitars, and soaring falsettos.

[95] This dance, characterized by vigorous waist movements, signified a cultural shift, with local gospel artists integrating elements of Congolese rumba and ndombolo into their musical compositions.

[95] In December 2003, Wenge Musica Maison Mère released a two-track maxi-single titled Tindika Lokito, which included the eponymous song, used in promotion for the beer brand Skol, along with "Allez À L'Ecole".

[106][104] On 15 August 2009, Wenge Musica Maison Mère published the album Techno Malewa Sans Cesse volume 1, which also blended ndombolo and Congolese rumba.

[107][108] The album's hit single "Techno Malewa Mécanique", featuring atalakus Brigade Sarbati and Lobeso, gained substantial popularity across Africa and among the continent's diaspora in Belgium and France, leading to a performance at Zénith de Paris.

[113][114][115][116][117][118] By the end of 2014, Fabregas Le Métis Noir debuted his seven-track EP, titled Anapipo, which achieved great success and garnered recognition throughout Africa.

[122][123][124] Koffi Olamide's ndombolo-inspired song "Selfie" (alternately known as "Ekoti té"), from his 2015 studio album 13ème Apôtre, rapidly became a viral sensation, amassing over a million views on YouTube within three weeks of its release.

This trend features exhilarating ndombolo motions synchronized with pulsating Congolese rhythms, encapsulating the precise articulation of the entire physical form, from limbs to waist.

[161][162][163] On 15 May 2022, French-Congolese singer Dadju released the ndombolo single "Ambassadeur", later certified gold, from his album Cullinan, shortly after being appointed as a cultural ambassador for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

[168][169] On 16 December 2022, Congo-Brazzaville singer-songwriter Afara Tsena Fukuchima debuted his single "Afro Mbokalisation", which fuses elements of ndombolo, particularly the sebene instrumental section, with coupé-décalé, characterized by a predominance of piano and guitar riffs.

[174][175] On 6 October 2023, another Franco-Congolese singer, Jungeli, premiered his single "Petit Génie", which included guest appearances by Imen Es, Alonzo, Abou Debeing, and Lossa.

Emerging in the early 2000s, coupé-décalé extensively draws from the Zouglou genre of Ivory Coast while also integrating elements of ndombolo, techno, and tribal house music.

[184] Ethnomusicology professor Ty-Juana Taylor of the University of California posits that ndombolo laid the groundwork for the coupé-décalé dance,[193] a perspective echoed by Ivorian researcher El Hadji Yaya Koné.

[193] This view is further supported by Ivorian music journalist Diarra Tiemoko of Soir Info, who notes the early use of pseudo-Lingala language in coupé-décalé songs during the genre's evolution.

[184][195] Tiemoko also highlights the influence of Congolese artists such as DJ Shega Mokonzi and Ronaldo R9 on Ivorian DJs, particularly in the early albums released in Ivory Coast.

[196][200] Douk Saga, initially in Paris in the early 2000s, developed this novel mode of musical expression, combining the Congolese sartorial subculture of La Sape with the percussion of soukous and ndombolo.